Episode 103: The Fun in Funeral
}} Emerson has taken a new case -- the murder of Lawrence Schatz, the funeral director who died because Ned decided to keep Chuck alive. When Chuck realizes that her new life came at the expense of somebody else's, she tries to figure out how to feel about her Prince Charming, who had to kill a funeral director in order to save her. Meanwhile, traveling salesman Alfredo Aldarisio offers Chuck happiness in a bottle... and Chuck delivers that happiness to Lily and Vivian, in the shape of a pie. Synopsis As a child, Ned tested the grace period he had of how long he could keep something resurrected without killing someone. In the present, Ned hasn’t mentioned to Chuck the cost of keeping her alive, and they almost kiss through Saran Wrap. A jealous Olive, watching, chats with the traveling salesman Alfredo Aldarisio, who worries that Earth’s atmosphere could be sucked away and treats himself with his own homeopathic antidepressants. Emerson comes in for ice cream, and Olive expresses her frustration to him. He also has a new case, of a man who died under mysterious circumstances. Emerson, Ned and Chuck (despite Emerson's protests) go to the morgue to check the body and it turns out to be Lawrence Schatz, the man who died to keep Chuck alive and was revealed as a grave robber. Ned leaves, refusing to touch him, and Chuck wants to know who the killer is. Ned finally admits that he killed Schatz. Meanwhile, Alfredo shows off his herbal wares to Olive while an unhappy Chuck comes in, clearly distraught and making Olive happy. Emerson is unhappy because it might have been him, and he worked with Schatz. Now Schatz’s twin brother Louis Schatz has hired Emerson to solve the murder and find the missing heirlooms. Ned refuses, but Chuck wants Ned to talk to Schatz and apologize, while she thanks him. Ned, Emerson and Chuck go back to the Schatz Brothers Funeral Home and meet Louis, who is a fan of Chuck’s aunts but reveals they had a relapse and cancelled their synchronized swimming tour. Lily and Vivian found a late-arriving postcard from Charlotte. Louis has come up with a theory of his own: his brother confessed to him but never revealed where he hid the heirlooms, and one of the angry family members killed Lawrence, and will come after Louis next. Once Louis leaves, Ned resurrects Lawrence and apologizes, then Chuck thanks him. Emerson asks him where the heirlooms are buried and Lawrence reveals that Louis was his partner. Chuck realizes that Lawrence stole her watch from her corpse and slams the coffin lid shut. With time running out, Emerson runs as far away as he can while Ned and Chuck try to knock the coffin open. They get it open just in time and Chuck, looking at the watch that was a gift from her aunts, and wants to do something for them. The trio goes over the letters from the families of the dead people the Schatzs stole from, while Chuck worries about her aunts. Alfredo offers his herbal medicine as a solution for their depression and provides a sample pack. Chuck mixes it in a pie and arranges for it to be delivered to them. Olive ends up delivering the pie when the Delivery Boy refuses to take it because Coeur d'Coeurs is not part of the regular delivery route, unaware that Louis Schatz’s corpse is hidden in the Pie Hole's freezer. Chuck comes in to discuss the situation with Ned and they find Louis in the freezer. Meanwhile, Olive arrives at the aunts’ house and, creeped out, tries to leave it off only to be invited in. The aunts invite Olive in for pie and remember Ned, and Olive puts two and two together and realizes Chuck is the "perky brunette from nowhere"… while eating the pie. Chuck and Ned call Emerson, who figures someone is setting up Ned. The police arrive so Ned brings back Louis and he explains that he confronted one of the family members who had a Civil War heirloom stolen while he was eating. Louis choked to death on the piece of tongue he was eating. They get him out, Ned kills him again, and they head for the funeral home, where Emerson gets stuck in a window. Meanwhile Ned bumps into a couple of corpses, a grumpy elderly man and a perky 30s woman, and has to quickly make them dead. Ned then finds a man lying on a table who is alive and wielding the Civil War sword. It’s Wilfred Woodruff, whose family member has the sword stolen. Woodruff thinks back to how his great-great-great-great-grandfather, Fambing Woo ended up becoming a hero in the Civil War and getting the sword. Ned and Woodruff fight while Emerson is stuck in the window and Chuck teases Emerson by referring to him as Winnie-the-Pooh. Woodruff thinks that Ned killed Lawrence because he ran out of the funeral home after resurrecting Chuck. Chuck arrives and Woodruff goes after her, but Ned trips him and Emerson kicks him unconscious. Ned knocks down the curtain, revealing the hidden heirlooms. An unnaturally cheery Olive arrives at the Pie Hole with Digby, while Emerson decides to lose weight after considering the somewhat obese Schatz brothers. Lily and Vivian have the pie while Woodruff is charged with murder. Ned and Chuck send the heirlooms back, and Ned admits he would still keep Chuck alive, confident in his decision. They start to kiss and Ned goes to get some Saran Wrap. Additional Info Trivia * In this episode, Ned's childhood home, which was misspelled in the , is now spelled Coeur d'Coeurs, as can be seen on the envelopes of hate mail addressed to the Schatz Brothers and on the tag of Chuck's pie. * Also, the name of the funeral home is changed from the Couer d'Couers Funeral Home to the Schatz Brothers Funeral Home. * Chi McBride had a "butt double" when he was stuck in the basement window of the funeral home. Cultural References * When Emerson is stuck in the window, Chuck keeps teasing him by saying that he's like Winnie-the-Pooh. This is a reference to the second chapter of A. A. Milne's novel Winnie-the-Pooh, "In Which Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets Into a Tight Place". This chapter more famously adapted by Walt Disney as the second part of the 1966 short cartoon Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. The payoff, of course, is the "Kick, pooh, kick!" line. * At one point, while sword fighting with Wilfred Woodruff, Ned says, "I wanted to be a Jedi." This is a reference to the Star Wars saga, where Jedi Knights are protectors of peace and justice. They use lightsabers, a type of futuristic laser-sword. * When talking to Ned about Lawrence Schatz and his connection to Chuck, Emerson says, "Who do you think hooked us up with Corpse Bride?" This is a reference to Tim Burton's 2005 stop-motion animated feature film Corpse Bride. Cast Regulars *Lee Pace: Ned *Anna Friel: Charlotte "Chuck" Charles *Chi McBride: Emerson Cod *Jim Dale: The Narrator *Ellen Greene: Vivian Charles *Swoosie Kurtz: Lily Charles *Kristin Chenoweth: Olive Snook Guest Stars *Raúl Esparza: Alfredo Aldarisio *Brad Grunberg: Louis Schatz/Lawrence Schatz *Eddie Shin: Wilfred Woodruff Co-starring *Field Cate: Young Ned *Victor Z. Isaac: Delivery Boy *Howard Mann: Elderly Man *Leyna Nguyen: Newscaster *Sy Richardson: Coroner *Kristin Dos Santos: 30s Woman *Albert Wong: Fambing Woo |next= }} de:Grabräuber __NOEDITSECTION__ Category:Episodes Category:Season 1